What do we mean by character building and why is there ever greater emphasis on it as a necessary part of a child’s development and education?

The London 2012 Olympic Games provide an ideal incentive for each of us to shine and enjoy the rewards from raising our personal development bar and supporting one another and children as we go for gold in all that we do and in every aspect of our lives.

How can we achieve this heightened state?

Let’s start by considering what we VALUE, what we treasure, because this is where much of our energy is absorbed. It may be that we value:

• our health and wellbeing
• our families and friends
• our homes and neighbourhoods
• our work and income
• our environment and the wider world

How would inhabitants of Kepler-22b rate Planet Earth beings?

If inhabitants of the newly discovered Kepler-22b planet were to quietly visit Earth’s atmosphere and observe the activity on Planet Earth, how would they rate the way we live and how we are looking after our planet?  Would they be surprised to see widespread, unsustainable modes of operation that appear to be posing a very serious threat to the very existence of our blue planet?

It is possible that one observation would be that many Earth beings don’t seem to be enjoying the realisation of their full potential due to operating and bringing up their young in a debilitating climate of moral uncertainty. In the minds of our galactic cousins, they might wonder why this matter is not being more urgently addressed, not least for the sake of the health and well-being of Planet Earth and all other forms of life on it.